Evergreen Line a go-go.

This unsigned op-ed from the Tri-City News has a nice little illustration of something Stephen Rees was talking about last week. The province has nothing to lose in their stand-off with Lower Mainland mayors over money for transit. Check out these grafs:

Transportation Minister Shirley Bond says Evergreen is a go but won’t hike the province’s share of the cost even though TransLink has serious money problems. TransLink is so cash poor, it’s going cap in hand to taxpayers and may not have enough cash for a bike rack, let alone its one-third share of the rapid transit line after the mayors’ council decides on a long-term funding plan.

So, according to the transportation minister, (a) the Evergreen Line is a go and (b) the province isn’t going to cover the funding shortfall. What now? In what sense is it “a go” if the money’s not there?

It’s pretty clear what’s happening here. It costs the province exactly nothing to keep saying that the Evergreen Line’s a go. That makes them look like they’re all for the project. But then, if Translink and the mayors can’t get enough money together and the project doesn’t go anywhere, it looks like their fault, not the province’s. After all, the province kept saying the Evergreen Line was a go!